US Navy Boat Flags 1782 to 1919

13 Star US Flag, Privateer Ensign, Revolutionary War Period This early Stars & Stripes Flag of the Revolutionary War belonged to the Revolutionary War privateer Minerva and it is believed to be the only named ship's ensign to have survived. It was formerly part of the acclaimed collection of noted antique dealer Mr. Boleslaw Mastai

U.S. 20 stars and 13 stripes confirming Mississippi as the 20th state. This period example was made to indicate the admission of Mississippi as the 20th state into the union on December 10, 1817; and would remain accurate until the admission of Illinois on December 3, 1818, a period of only 358 days.

20 Star U.S. Navy Boat Flag & Ensign, 1818, former Flayderman Collection This particular design of the national flag was flown for only one year following the admission of Mississippi (1817) and Illinois (1818) into the Union.

U.S. 26 Star Flag - Michigan as the 26th state of the Union. This hand sewn 26 star United States flag was made to indicate the admission of Michigan as the 26th state on January 26, 1837; and would remain accurate until the admission of Florida on March 3, 1845, a period of 8 years, 1 month, 5 days.

U.S. 31 Star Flag, Pratt St. Riots, Baltimore, MD - Massachusetts Militia vs. Confederate Sympathizers. This flag is a companion piece to ZFC0022. Both flags came from the Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum in Baltimore; and it is likely that this was the flag displayed when the Massachusetts troops traveled through Baltimore.

16 Star U.S. Navy Boat Flag - Navy Yard Charleston, 1850's. This is a U.S. Navy Boat Ensign (Boat Flag) from the Naval Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, 1854-63. Marked in ink upon the heading are the inscriptions: "6 Ft. BOAT ENSIGN" and "N Y C" (the latter indicating manufacture at the United States Naval Yard at Charlestown (Boston Harbor)

16 Star US Boat Ensign, Johnson Brothers, Bath ME, 1850's The 16 stars on this flag suggest that it is an abolitionist exclusionary flag. The Fugitive Slave Act, which passed as one of the elements of the Compromise of 1850, allowed slave catchers to roam the North in search of any individual who had escaped slavery.

13 Star, U.S. Navy Boat Flag,4-5-4, Lt. Stephen Decatur. This handmade, wool, 13 star, U.S. Navy Boat Ensign dates from the early to mid 19th century. It has a canton arrangement of three rows of stars; four, five, four. Inscribed on the hoist is "A. R. DECATUR. A.R." Decatur refers to Anna Rowell Philbrick Decatur.

13 Star U.S. Flag, 1850-1880. The 4-5-4 star pattern is thought to be the oldest star pattern of any other star patterns associated with the flag of the United States including the constellation.

13 Star U.S. Flag #12 Navy Boat Flag, "The Old Flag of the War 1861-1865". This 13 Star U.S flag conforms to the dimensions specified from 1863 through 1882 for the No. 12 (7 feet fly dimension) boat flag. The attached panel indicates that it saw Civil War service, though a ship's name has not been recorded.

13 Star U.S. Navy Boat Flag, Captured-Battery Wagner 1863,Capt. Chichester. This flag was captured by Captain Charles E. Chichester, commander of a battery of Confederate artillery that Union troops unsuccessfully attacked on July 11, 1863 (a week before the doomed assault dramatized in the film "Glory").

U.S. 13 Star Boat Flag - Captain Stephen Decatur. This is an American Civil War era, wool, hand and machine-sewn US Navy Boat Ensign. The name ARP DECATUR is inscribed in period ink on the hoist, referring to Anna Rowell Philbrick Decatur, the wife of Commodore Stephen Decatur.

13 star U.S. Flag - Navy Boat Flag used at the amphibious landings at Ft. Fisher, North Carolina, Dec 1864 This flag was used on one of the small boats of Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's fleet when it attempted to capture Fort Fischer, a powerful bastion protecting the Confederacy's last open port, located in Wilmington, NC.

13 star U.S. Boat Flag. This is a 13 star U.S. Boat Flag, very similar in size to U.S. Navy Size Number 12, it is typical of the type of flags used to indicate the nationality of small boats that had been dispatched from larger vessels.

U.S. 13 Star Navy Boat Flag - W. Stokes Kirk. This is a noteworthy ex-W. Stokes Kirk flag. They were one of the largest military surplus dealers of American Civil war military and naval equipment; however, this was not simply an item from the company, but rather the W. Stokes Kirk flag for family use.

13 Star United States Navy Boat Flag No.14. During the American Civil War, the U.S. Navy mushroomed in size, and the demand for flags exceeded the Navys ability to furnish flags through the various U.S. Naval Yards at key ports along the Atlantic. Historians have speculated that the Navy Yards turned to civilian contractors to make them.

13 Star U.S Flag Navy Boat Flag This is a U.S. Navy boat flag of 1867. The star pattern is 3,2,3,2,3. It is an artifact from a transitional period in U.S. flag manufacturing, integrating block printing (new style) with the old style of piecing (i.e. stitching pieces together).

This significant U.S. Bunting Company,13-star Navy 'Boat Flag' was once owned by Gettysburg historian John Badger Batchelder. This flag is from the Colonel Badger Batchelder collection, who wrote the history of the Battle of Gettysburg for the U.S. Government.

U.S. 13 Star, 13 stripe Navy Boat Flag No. 7. - 1891 A large, 13 star U.S. Navy Boat Flag that is not from the American Revolution era. It was made in the late 19th century for usage on the small boats that were carried aboard larger warships. These smaller boats were used to ferry personnel and goods from ship to shore, and ship to ship.

13 Star U.S. Navy Boat Flag - #11, N.Y. - Decatur Family Collection. This is a wool machine sewn US Navy Boat Ensign. It is stenciled the hoist "US Boat Flag, Navy Yard New York No. 11, April 1913", this design was abolished in 1916.

U.S. 48 Star Flag - USN Boat Flag MI Size 12. This is a small, machine sewn, double appliquéd, 48 star U.S. flag made in 1919 as a U.S. Navy boat flag. It was intended for use on the small boats that were carried aboard larger warships, which were used to ferry personnel and goods from ship to shore.